Texas Border Business
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AUSTIN – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) released the following statement after multiple bills he introduced were signed into law by President Trump during the first year of the 119th Congress:
“As we reflect on the first half of the 119th Congress, I’m proud to see several of my bills prioritizing the needs of hardworking, God-fearing Texans be signed into law by President Trump,” said Sen. Cornyn. “I look forward to building on this progress as Republicans work hand-in-glove with President Trump to enact his agenda and deliver results for the American people.”
Efforts led by Sen. Cornyn that were enacted into law:
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- Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge Act: Codifies President Trump’s Executive Order renaming the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge near Houston to the Jocelyn Nungaray National Refuge.
- Laken Riley Act: Requires U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to arrest and detain migrants who commit theft-related crimes, including offenses resulting in bodily injury or death, until they are removed from the U.S. to ensure they cannot commit further crimes.
- Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act: Requires the U.S. Department of State to review and update its policy guidance regarding Taiwan no less than every five years and deliver a report to Congress within 90 days.
- Halting the Epidemic of Addiction and Loss (HEAL) Act: Expands access to new opioid overdose reversal agents in addition to naloxone by updating guidance and grant language from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
- Improving Access to Addiction Medicine Providers Act: Adds addiction medicine as an eligible medical field for fellowships under the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
- Improving Veteran Experience Act: Makes permanent the Veterans Experience Office (VEO) within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), ensuring it can continue to provide consistent and quality care for veterans in Texas and throughout the country.
- Fairness for Servicemembers and their Families Act: Helps ensure life insurance packages for service members and veterans account for increases in cost of living and inflation.
- Stop the Screwworms With Active Readiness and Mitigation (SWARM) Act: Requires the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to present details to Congress on the domestic readiness and response initiatives that it both plans to implement and is already executing to combat the New World screwworm. Passed as part of the short-term government funding legislation to end the Schumer Shutdown.
- Ensuring the Necessary Destruction of (END) Illicit Chinese Tobacco Act: Gives the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to destroy adulterated, misbranded, or counterfeit imported tobacco products, such as vapes and e-cigarettes that are flooding the U.S. market from China. Passed as part of the short-term government funding legislation to end the Schumer Shutdown.
Efforts that were enacted into law as part of the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA):
- Comprehensive Outbound Investment National Security (COINS) Act (formerly known as the Foreign Investment Guardrails to Help Thwart (FIGHT) China Act): Safeguards the United States’ national security against threats posed by countries of concern like China, Russia, and Iran by prohibiting and requiring notification of U.S. investments in certain technologies in such countries.
- PROTECT Our Children Act: Reauthorizes and modernizes the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program.
- Improving Police Critical Aid for Responding to Emergencies (CARE) Act: Equips law enforcement officers with quality trauma kits so they can respond immediately if a civilian or fellow officer experiences a traumatic injury during a call.
- Partnership for Advancing Regional Training and Narcotics Enforcement Response Strategies (PARTNERS) Act: Requires the Department of War (DoW) to recommend future additional joint training with Mexican military forces to combat cartels.
- Counternarcotics Enhancement Act: Directs elements of the Intelligence Community to develop strategies to enhance counternarcotics collaboration, coordination, and cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico.
- Growing University AI for Defense (GUARD) Act: Codifies a portion of President Trump’s AI Action Plan and enables the Department of War (DoW) to establish and lead a National Security and Defense AI Institute to advance defense innovation, workforce development, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) readiness.
- Disinterment of Fernando V. Cota from Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery: Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to disinter Fernando V. Cota, an alleged serial murderer and convicted rapist, from Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery at the request of the son of one of his alleged victims.
- Provisions to modernize the U.S. nuclear security enterprise by directing a focused effort on the safety and security of U.S. nuclear infrastructure through the upgrading of aging facilities.
- Provisions to enhance U.S. military recruiters’ access to secondary schools to ensure military recruiters have as equal access to high schools as colleges and employers do, ensuring prospective recruits understand the benefits of military service.
Efforts that were enacted into law as part of the Working Families Tax Cuts:
- A provision to reimburse states like Texas $13.5 billion for stepping up and trying to secure the southern border during the Biden-Harris administration.
- Bring the Space Shuttle Home Act: Results in the movement of the Space Shuttle Discovery from Virginia to its rightful home near the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston.
- Mission to Mars Act: Improves and modernizes Johnson Space Center’s (JSC) infrastructure to prepare National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for human missions to the moon and Mars.
- A modified version of his Small Business Investment Act, which makes it easier for small and start-up businesses to access the financing they need to grow and succeed.
- Provisions from his Feral Swine Eradication Act to provide $105 million to the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program.
- Provisions to reduce burdensome taxes on certain firearms and silencers to $0.
- Provisions from his SAVE for Students Act that link loan eligibility to program outcomes, ensuring students in underperforming programs cannot borrow federal funds for those programs.
Bills sponsored by Sen. Cornyn that have passed the Senate and await action in the House of Representatives during the second half of this Congress include:
- Countering Threats and Attacks on Our Judges Act: Would establish a State Judicial Threat Intelligence and Resource Center to provide technical assistance, training, and threat monitoring for state and local judges and court personnel.
- Strengthening Child Exploitation Enforcement Act: Would close loopholes in existing criminal child sexual abuse statues to help law enforcement better prosecute offenders and protect victims.
- Enhancing Necessary Federal Offenses Regarding Child Exploitation (ENFORCE) Act: Would hold those who use generative AI to create or distribute Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) and obscenity accountable by ensuring they are subject to the same statutory penalties as those who create or distribute other forms of child pornography.
- Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act: Would aid in the recovery of Nazi-looted art and deliver justice for Holocaust survivors and their families.
- Enduring Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act: Would correct a technical error in existing statute and permanently extend a criminal penalty requiring certain offenders found guilty of human trafficking and abuse to pay a special assessment fine that would go towards the Domestic Trafficking Victims Fund operated by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
- Scam Compound Accountability and Mobilization (SCAM) Act: Would counter foreign cyber scams and hold transnational criminal organizations accountable for human trafficking, forced criminality, and cyber-enabled fraud schemes targeting Americans.
- Big Bend National Park Boundary Adjustment Act: Would authorize the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) to acquire around 6,100 acres of land along the western boundary of the park.
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